1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, generally, to privacy devices for chain link fences and more particularly to a better vanity slat apparatus interweavable through a chain link fence.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is common for owners or occupants of residential and commercial property to surround their property with a chain link fence to prevent or restrict the passage of people or animals across property lines. Chain link fences provide a secure enclosure of low cost and good durability. Such fences are formed of flattened helical wire strands interlocked to form a wide mesh wire fabric supported at spaced intervals by upright tubular members. Chain link fencing has certain disadvantages, however.
The appearance of chain link fencing is strictly utilitarian, and not necessarily attractive. Further, chain link fencing provides little privacy for the occupants of the fenced property, nor does it prevent the occupiers of the property and fails to block the view of adjacent views, such as streets or alleys. For certain applications, the unobstructed visibility through a chain link fence is distinctly disadvantageous. When privacy is desired, or where a wind break is needed, a chain link fence by itself is unsatisfactory.
Accordingly, chain link fences may be provided with slats to cover the openings in the fence and obstruct visibility. To improve the appearance of chain link fencing, and to provide a degree of privacy, it is a common practice to insert opaque slats between the links of the chain link fencing, usually in vertical orientation. Optimally such slats should be attractive, low in cost, durable, and should not rattle or become loose because of vibrations or wind.
Such slats have a tendency to shift longitudinally after being inserted in the wire fabric of the chain link fence so as to become disarranged and uneven. Dislodged slats can detract from the aesthetics. A successful slat must be securely attached to the fence and somehow restrained from falling through the fencing.
Over the years, arrangements have been devised to restrain the slats in position, including the use of an upwardly-concave channel inserted horizontally through the lower most links of the fence with the lower end of the slats resting in the channel. Restraining members have also been utilized to cap the tops of side-by-side vertical slats.
Because the fabrication of a chain link fence typically provide wire runs forming diamond shaped openings, most prior art slats comprise elongate strips which seat within these openings. The slats can be positioned either vertically or diagonally at a forty-five degree angle to the horizontal. The slats are often clipped to the chain itself by fasteners or hooking tabs on the slats. The slats can also be connected to each other by clips or snaps.
Slat sections can be accordion-shaped to provide expandability for different widths of chain link grid. U.S. Pat. No. 4,723,761 shows such an arrangement. In that device, such slats are formed with bores on their outer periphery to receive U-shaped clips to connect one slat to another. The slats are inserted and intertwined through the mesh gridwork.
Skilled artisans and consumers have found that using tabs or clips to hook the slats to each other or to the fence strands is inconvenient. Thus, different and additional ways to attach slat devices to fences and prevent their removal, without snaps and fasteners, have been suggested.
Various retaining lock devices for chain link fence slats have been designed. Some arrangements incorporate an open channel which is inserted horizontally through the lower most or uppermost course of links of the fence. A locking arrangement is provided to lock such slats to the channel to prevent their removal. The slats may be formed on one end with a bevel and may include a locking notch for locking a locking channel in position. U.S. Pat. No. 4,995,591 shows such an arrangement. While satisfactory for their intended purposes, devices of this type suffer the shortcoming that separate locking channels are required, the attachment of which require a certain degree of dexterity.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,007,619 shows a similar chain link fence slat arrangement including a top horizontal channel, a bottom horizontal channel, and slats formed with lock tab bottoms that can be locked into the bottom horizontal channel. Devices of this type also require careful alignment of the top and bottom ends of the slats in the locking channels.
Another common means of attaching the vertical slats to the chain link fence is to manufacture each vertical slat with an aperture to receive a horizontal member therethrough. The horizontal member can be inserted through the apertures on the series of vertical slats, supporting the slats and restricting removal thereof. A device of this type is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,512,556.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,056,761 shows a similar construction in which the slats are angled at forty-five degrees. Each of the forty-five degree positioned slats is formed with a retaining hole in it. A horizontal retaining slat is inserted through the series of retaining holes of the slats to keep them stable and in place.
A mesh fence for snow or particle drifts is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,913,889. Vertical slats are stapled transverse to the length of the mesh fence across the mesh fence. In another embodiment, a collapsible fence is described with the slat members connected to each other by snap fasteners.
One of the most common arrangements employed in the past to restrain slats in a fence was a strip member extending across the top of the slats, connected to each slat, to retain the slats in the fence as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,836,505.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,760,759 describes a chain link fence, slats, possibly of wood, woven through the fence, and a lock strip at the bottom on which the slats rest or to which the slats are attached.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,085,954 shows vertical slats in a chain link fence, an upper horizontal channel, and a lower horizontal retaining member channel. The lower channel is provided at the bottom of the fence, holding the slats in place. The slats may be plastic.
The slat used with the chain link fence can be flexible with a flattened cross-section. Such slats are manufactured of polyethylene, a similar plastic, wood, or metal. They are offered by manufacturers in various colors.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,712,590 shows that the slat depth can be varied to keep the slats from falling out. A slat will then fit snugly in the fence with its portions flush to each side and will not rattle.
As described above, slats for a chain link fence have been designed in an accordion-like shape to expand to fit the fence mesh. See U.S. Pat. No. 4,723,761. However, devices of this type are relatively expensive to manufacture and require some degree of dexterity to install.
There is a need for more privacy and protection than that provided by a mere chain link fence. Many slat devices have been suggested to improve chain link fences for vanity sake, to protect against particulate matter in the air, sound, temperature, and wind. Slats inserted in a chain link fence are subject to displacement either by accident or because of vandalism. This creates an unsightly appearance and destroys the privacy of the occupiers of the property. Therefore there is a need for the slats to be securely attached to the fence.
There is a need for inexpensive, lightweight, sturdy, attractive slats which are convenient to install and which incorporate a retainer operative upon engagement with the fence to hold the slats in place.
Wooden slats deteriorate with continued exposure to the elements, and their attractiveness can only be restored by removing them from the fence for restraining or repainting. This periodic restoration is time-consuming and costly. An improved slat composition is necessary.